Saturday, June 27, 2009

A friend recently told me about the Black American expat writer, Andrea Lee, who moved first to Moscow many years ago and now lives in Torino, Italy where she is married to an Italian count(!). She has written a number of books (both fiction and non-fiction, which seem to range from classy to trashy) about expat women, and she has also been a contributing writer at places such as New York Times and Vogue. My friend told me that this might be something for me to aspire to and it all sounds good to me!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

According to the latest Global Retail Development Index from management consultants A.T. Kearney, the economic downturn has made emerging markets increasingly relevant to global retailers."

I read this on the Just-Food Daily Food News feed yesterday and thought to myself "Wouldn't it be great if Slovenia was in that top 10?" Then I shrugged it off, thinking there was just no way.

But today, something dragged me over to have a glance at the report and LO and BEHOLD, there is Slovenia at number 9. While I don't want the country to turn into an awful free-for-all, I can only hope that this means that Ben & Jerry's pints, foreign language bookstores, reasonably priced eyeglass retailers, better stocked grocery stores, and more cheap (but good) clothing outlets are on their way.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

For your travelling pleasure (and so I don't forget), I'm posting a guide to my absolute favorite places in Berlin.I will keep updating as I remember stuff.

BooksAnother Country - Riemanstr. 7 (Kreuzberg -U7 to Gneisenaustr or U6-7 to Mehringdamm)It's kinda the best place in the world ever. Do go there for Friday night dinner party, yum!Motto - (Kreuzberg - U1 to Gorlitzer Banhof) actually more of a magazine shop. but full of interesting readsClothesGarage - clothes by the kilo, Ahornstr. 2 (U1-4 to Nollendorf)Mauer Park Flohmarkt(Prenzlauerberg, U8 to Bernauer)Razzo's Second Hand, Sybelstraße 25 (Charlottenburg, S to Charlottenburg, U7 to Adenauerplatz), also just wander around this hood it is FULL of second hand shopsThink Shoes, Kantstr. (Charlottenburg, U7 to Wilmersdorf or S to Charlottenburg)Vamp Star - Schwedterstr. 22 ( -Prenzlauerberg) - run by real cool Japanese dudes with great designs for a good price. they also have a booth at Mauer Park every SundaySecond Hemd, super cheap- Prinzenallee at Bellermanstr. (Wedding - U8 to Pankstr.)

I think the thing about being anywhere for a month is that you have, at once, the feeling that it is gonna go on forever while at the same time the superego reminder that your time is running short and that you cannot plant roots. Favorite haunts are filed away as travel tips for others, the maps in your head, the ways you learned to burn your trail through the place will quite possibly have to be relearned when you return. Your last days become frantic dashes to reconnect for one last time with the people and places you liked the best, but you can never get to them all and you know it. And so I was in Ostbanhof station on Sunday morning, having parted ways with the last of my Berlin last-nighter all-nighter buddies (who were heading out to a disco at 6am), thinking about meeting up with one last friend at a bar a few stops away, when my body just said no, when I realized I had to let go, pack my bags, and catch my flight.

Sloshing through rainy Berlin streets to the shuttle to Schoenfeld unto checking in my overstuffed luggage. Catnapping in the terminal and then up, up, and away.

The Captain was at the airport to get me and drive me the rest of the way home. His face was like a dream. I couldn't remember all the contours, I just thought "WOW, who is this hot guy picking me up at the aiport? Lucky me." But then we talked and joked, and I remembered the tones and the Familiar and the sun was shining (ahh, sunshine) and we drove and drove and then I was HOME.

Upon arising from my first night back in my own bed (ahhh), my heart lept because I was right where I wanted to be. But as the morning turned into afternoon and I plowed through my luggage explosion, I couldn't help but sidle over to my computer and type in a quick cheeky search:

"cheap flights berlin"

Details filed away in my brain. I will undoubtedly be back, and back, but soon.

Here are some pics from my last few days in beautiful Berlin.

on Bergmanstrasse

my trip to KaDeWe

last day with friends from German class

at a dentist's office on Kottbusser Damm

at my local U-bahn station

last day with friends from German class, aw memories!

My super cool classmate (he's a brotha from Philly) made fried chicken for my last day. It was FANTASTIC!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Some people are lucky enough to go one carnival in their lives. I've already been to two this year. The first was in Venice, and the second was last weekend here in Berlin. Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend the four-day dancing in the street debauchery of Karneval der Kulturens. It was parades and bands and music and of course tons of drinking and bootyshaking in the streets of Kreuzberg in the name of multi-cultism.